Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-07-16
THE LIFE OF A MARINE.
How lie Gets Into the Corps and Wha
He Docs When There.

l khOVV AAe esetS INTO the corps ana W00l
| He Docs When There.
| THE BARRACKS AND hRcRUN1N0 STATION IN THIS
| CTTY-A SCHOOL OF DRUMMER BoYs-TNDpcIMHNrs
OFFERED TO SECURE FAITHFUL sKRvIcs-rRoPHIks
WON BY THE CORPS IN SERVICE
| "Able-bodied, unmarried men. between the ages
OF twenty one and thirty-nve years not less than
| feet incnes in height, Of good character, and
not addicted to the use OF liquor; must be able to
read and write English properly, as well as speak
| 1t, and no minors are wanted at all"
Such are the words Of q flaming poster at the
GRIM lead-cOlored gates Of the q. 8. Marine Bar
racks on Eighth street southeast not far from the
gate OF the navy-ya They described the kind OF
men wanted for service in the Marine Corps Al
| though the conditions were not such as would IN
duce him to apply to the recruiting ofncer, STAR
| reporter was sufficiently Interested to walk
| through the portal lined with gun racks and
the scene was lively one; the level parade ground
was dotted with squads Of recruits laboring under
seeming to vie With the Others 1I In aWSWsrness
and causing infinite annoy ance TO important-lOok-
ing sergeants. Directly In front OF the gate rose
.ne TAN aag-s from which lazily noated the
The buildings surrounding the courtyard are all
,9% with the exception Of the residence OF Col:
nesties among the trees on the north SIDE OF the
SQUARE At the LEFT Of the gate as the visitor en-
WAS oAS INC Qu&hi oSko VI tfic ouScFa
HOW THE CORPS Is RECRUITED.
While the scribe was taking In the scene q cor
poral, with face as passive as q mummy, stepped
TO his side and waited patiently for orders. Lieut..
Gilman, the on1cer OF the day, soon made his ap-
pearance, and lost no time In informing the re-
porter as to the details OF marine existence. "As
soon as the recruits attracted by the manifold
set forth on the poster outside come
physicians, who test their Constitutions in every
possible manner. In case they pass this ordeal,
which is very severe they are examined as to their
are able to read and write, as required. Those
who come through this are then allowed to enlist
for nve years service In the corps"
"D0 any or the men re-enllSt after serving the
| FULL perfod3" asked the reporter.
ooh, yes" was the reply. ri should say that q
that ali who enlist serve i've Years, for large
| number OF them desert after a few months. They
are poor lot, those Fellows and only come in TO
nothing else to do. We do not care much when
they desert, for we always aim to keep the corps
mens for them to remain in the service we ofier
increased pay for each succeeding term they
serve. When man has served for thirty years,
quarters OF the pay allowances to which he was
entitled during his last enlistment A large num-
Der have been retired.
PROMOTIONS FROM THE RANKS.
GAS further inducement to good men" he con-
tinued, promotions from the ranks are made rap
idly. IT, after private has been in for six months
or So he is found to be faithful and trustworthy,
he Is examined Tor promotion to the rank OF cor
poral. the topics being reading, writing arithme-
tic, spelling, and little OF tactics. On passing
this examination he is given a warrant OF promo
ton, signed by the communicate. The examina-
ton for sergeantcy follows in due course. There
are no promotions from the ranks to q commission
In this branch OF the service"
SHOW is the time divided between shore and sea
duty?'
"Well, 1t is endeavored to give man about half
and half OF each. There are from twenty-f1v TO
fifty assigned to vessel according to her size and
armament"
(which do they prefer"
ooh, shore duty, every time. The younger men
are always extremely anxious for ship detail
when they first enlist, but they are cured OF II by
their first voyage. They like their shore aSSocta-
tons; they are near home and can see their friends
when here, but when on board OF vessel they get
oniSm between the marines and the sailors during
cruise, and the social line was strongly drawn,
But this line is fass and there seems
to be no feeling OF hostility between them now.
The reason Is probably to be found In the fact that
soldier, his duties being more like those Of the
marine to-day than they were formerly"
THE SIZE OF THE CORPS.
''How many men are there in the service?" In
terrogated the reporter.
.'There are in the whole corps about 1000 men, "
responded the lieutenant ''There should be
short, and the force had to be reduced We have
ABOUT one lu0OFoQ ana GW0OLy-uVc men at the
post, including the band and the apprentice boys.
These latter, OF whom there are twenty-five here,
are trained for drummers and nfers for the SER
education. Alter they GRADUATED from the
benches and are considered sufficiently proficient
In the use OF the stick they are sent all over the
country to different posts. There Is no upper
sphere for them In the service; they remain DRUM
mers and tfers unless they leave, all their lives.
II you step here we may ind them at practice"
LEARNING TO DRUM.
himself inside Of q large room, where, astride Of
long benches running across the floor were seated
the twenty-five apprentices, each vigorously
pounding square bit OF leather nailed before him
with the ''scole" beside 1t. Several OF the larger
boys were at work on table in the corner, read
ing their music ~ from blackboard before them.
The noise was indeScribable; there was no cadence
toos, srevellles," and ros but all were jumbied
into one pOtpourri OF noisy sound An Instructor
moved among the lads, giving points and inter
the xylophone artist, who has so completely en-
raptured his Washington artists with his chippy
variations. on emerging from the din the reporter
ance, and then resumed his quiz.
Are the men unmarried, according to your
"Most OF them are thus blessed, but few are
married, although, OF course, we have no oflcial
knowledge of the facts The Officers, Of course,
yates OF the Naval Academy, and are subject to
detachment at any time for regular army duty"
THE BARRACKS.
At this point the lieutenant was called away by
his Official duties and he left the reporter in the
hands OF the sergeant major to be shown through
the barracks. They found everything in drst-rate
order-every floor scrubbed to wniteness, every
cot arranged in mathematically correct form,
every pane OF glass as clean possible. In fact,
there was not q spot OF which the neateSt house.
wife could complain The quarters are divided into
several small rooms, each accommodating about
ten men. There is reading or orderly" room, in
10 nlanp6 hnAkG mHD2ZinQS paA
ing daily papers In this room stands curious
old buffet its sides blackened with age and the
varnlSh cracked In thousand places. No one
knows its history, but all agree that has been in
the barracks as far back as the memory Of a ma
r1ne can run.
ON the other side OF the gates are the kitchen
and the mess rooms. There are three meals day,
sisting OF beef, soup, bread, vegetables bacon
fruit and other elements OF good healthy fare The
cooking Is done by detailed force or three men
who continue to occupy this position until tired
OF the work, when their places are filled by Others
disagreeable but at times necessary adjunct OF
the barracks was found in one corner the guard
room. Half dozen cells, feet by J. stood empty,
malefactOr. The sergeant said that the men are
always very orderly, and, as consequence, the
cells are seldom occupied. Across the yard IRON
the Ofl1cers' quarters Is the medical dispensary,
from which remedies are issued for the minor ills
OF the GARRISON the severer cases OF illness sent
to the Marine Hospital, situated in a large brick
building on Pennsylvania avenue, near 10Th street
southeast.
The most entertaining feature Of the walk was q
visit to the museum and repair shop. Here is a